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The comparison reads the same evidence fields used by broker profiles, so users can scan scores, regulation, costs, platforms, withdrawals, and caveats side by side.

Broker 1
Broker 2
Broker 3
Broker 4
VS field
Pepperstone

pepperstone.com

Forex BrokerMulti Asset BrokerStock CFD
IC Markets

icmarkets.com

Forex BrokerMulti Asset BrokerStock CFD
IG

ig.com

CFD BrokerForex BrokerOption
XTB

xtb.com

CFD BrokerForex BrokerForex
Decision summary
Overall score
86
90
90
89
Trust score
88
99
100
90
Cost score
84
85
84
94
Platform score
92
94
94
94
Withdrawal score
80
86
89
86
Best for
Active forex/CFD traders who want MT4, MT5, cTrader or TradingView · Traders comparing Standard spread-only pricing vs Razor raw-spread plus commission · Users in supported jurisd…
Experienced forex/CFD traders · Scalpers, day traders and algorithmic traders comfortable with high-risk leveraged products · Users who specifically need MT4/MT5, cTrader or Tradi…
Experienced CFD and forex traders seeking broad market access · UK clients wanting both leveraged trading and commission-free eligible share/ETF investing · Traders who value plat…
Strong low-cost multi-asset and CFD broker, but regional/entity differences are material: leverage, NBP, investor compensation, fees and country acceptance must be rendered per ju…
Watch out
Leverage, investor compensation, negative balance protection and funding availability differ by jurisdiction/entity · Minimum deposit messaging is inconsistent across official FAQ…
Long-term investors seeking physical stocks/ETFs · Beginners who need strong statutory investor compensation or negative balance protection · Residents of restricted countries or…
Needs verification
Needs verification
Trust & regulation
Regulators
Regulators listed by Pepperstone Group: ASIC, SCB, CySEC, DFSA, UAE CMA/SCA, BaFin, Kenya CMA and FCA.
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Financial Services Authority of Seychelles (FSA)
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Authorised/supervised by FCA, BaFin/Deutsche Bundesbank, ASIC, FINMA, FSCA, MAS, FMA, DFSA, Japanese authorities, CFTC/NFA, and BMA depending region/entity.
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FSC Belize, KNF Poland, FCA UK, CNMV Spain and CySEC Cyprus are disclosed across official XTB pages.
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License numbers
Known official license numbers found: ASIC AFSL 414530; FCA 684312; CySEC 388/20; DFSA F004356; SCB SIA-F217; UAE 20200000358; Kenya CMA 128. BaFin number not found in reviewed official pages.
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Securities Dealer license number SD018
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FCA register numbers: 195355, 114059, 944492; DFSA reference F001780; IG Europe register 148759; IG Asia company registration 200510021K.
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Key disclosed numbers: FSC Registration No. 6442514 / FSC License No. 000302/438; FCA FRN 522157; CySEC CIF 169/12; UK company number 07227848.
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Regulated entities
Multiple Pepperstone entities are regulated in Australia, Bahamas, Cyprus/EEA, DIFC/UAE, Germany, Kenya and the UK; client protections differ by entity.
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Raw Trading Ltd, registered in Seychelles (registration number 8419879-1), regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Seychelles with Securities Dealer license SD018.
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IG contracting entities vary by region, including UK IG Markets/IG Index/IG Trading and Investments, IG International Limited, IG Limited Dubai, IG Bank S.A., IG Asia Pte Ltd, IG Europe GmbH and others.
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XTB Group entities include XTB International Limited (Belize/FSC), XTB S.A. (Poland/KNF), XTB Limited (UK/FCA), XTB Sucursal (Spain/CNMV), and XTB Limited (Cyprus/CySEC).
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Negative balance protection
Negative balance protection applies to retail clients, but not to Pepperstone Pro/professional clients; entity wording varies and should be reviewed for client jurisdiction.
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No negative balance protection found for the reviewed global entity; IC says clients bear negative consequences and are responsible for any negative balance.
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Negative balance protection applies to UK/ESMA/DFSA retail leveraged accounts; professional traders are excluded; some regional tables show ability to lose more than deposits for certain accounts.
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Negative balance protection is available for UK retail clients under XTB Limited, but international pages warn that losses can exceed deposits; treat as regional/entity dependent.
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Investor compensation
Investor compensation is jurisdiction-specific: UK FSCS up to £85,000; Cyprus ICF up to €20,000; Germany EdW up to 90%/€20,000; other listed entities show no compensation scheme.
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Client funds insurance up to US$1,000,000; no statutory investor compensation scheme found in reviewed official sources.
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Investor/deposit compensation depends on entity: FSCS UK, EdW Europe, esisuisse Switzerland; no compensation scheme disclosed for several other IG regions in comparison table.
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UK retail clients may be entitled to FSCS compensation up to GBP 85,000; Cyprus legal page lists an Investor Compensation Fund document; international Belize compensation not found.
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Restricted countries
Official regional disclaimers specifically mention United States, Belgium and (on EU pages) Spain, plus a general local-law restriction; country availability is entity-dependent.
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Raw Trading Ltd does not provide services to residents of the United States of America, Canada, New Zealand, Iran, North Korea (DPRK), or countries where distribution/use would be contrary to local law or regulation.
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Official IG international and UK pages state the information is not directed at residents of the United States and Belgium; country availability is region/entity-dependent.
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XTB only accepts clients where it operates and with appropriate permits; XTB International accepted-country list is limited from March 2026; Brazil page is not created for Brazilian residents.
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Costs & account conditions
Minimum deposit
Conflicting/regional: no universal minimum; common method minimum is $/€/£10, bank transfers may have no minimum, crypto/global $25.
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No minimum deposit requirement disclosed for opening a trading account.
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Minimum deposit varies substantially by region, from $50 card/no minimum bank transfer for IG International to CHF 2500 for Switzerland.
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No minimum deposit on the international page; UK page lists 0 GBP / no minimum deposit.
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Spread from
Razor FX spreads from 0.0; Razor Spot Gold from 0.08; Standard FX examples from 1.0 on major pairs; spreads vary by market and conditions.
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Spreads from 0.0 pips on MetaTrader/cTrader Raw Spread platforms; Standard account spread starts from 0.8 pip.
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Selected UK trading spreads: EUR/USD 0.6, S&P 500 0.4, Spot Gold 0.3; spreads are variable and selected examples only.
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Minimum spread is 0.5 on the international page and 0.3 on the UK page, so it is region/entity dependent.
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Commission
Standard generally commission-free except equity CFDs; Razor FX/XAU/USD raw spread plus commission from $3.50 per lot per side; share/ETF CFD commissions vary by market/platform.
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Standard: no commission, 0.8 pip markup. Raw Spread MetaTrader: USD $3.50 per lot per side / $7 round turn. cTrader/TradingView: USD $3 per $100,000 traded per side.
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Commission varies by product: commission-free UK investing in eligible stocks/ETFs; share CFD commissions include 0.10% UK/Euro and 2 cents/share US; manual currency conversion commissions also apply in UK investing.
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Stocks/ETFs are commission-free up to EUR 100,000 monthly turnover, then 0.2% min EUR 10; CFD trading commission is advertised as 0%, with product-specific fees/markups in the fee table.
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Maximum leverage
Entity/client-type dependent: retail ranges from 1:30 in EU/UK/AU to 1:200 under SCB examples and 1:400 Kenya; Pro marketing claims up to 1:1000 but detailed tables show lower values in some contexts.
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IC offers flexible leverage from 1:1 to 1:5000; leverage is dynamic and may change at any time.
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Leverage/margin is region- and product-dependent; IG International CFD page shows up to 1:200 for forex and indices, 1:143 commodities, 1:10 share/crypto CFDs; UAE page cites indices up to 20:1.
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Leverage is region/product dependent: international pages state a maximum of 1:500 for individual clients; UK account page states 1:30; real stocks and ETFs are not leveraged.
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Deposit fee
Pepperstone generally charges no internal deposit fees in reviewed tables, but third-party/intermediary fees may apply and availability varies regionally.
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IC does not charge additional deposit fees; bank/intermediary fees may apply.
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Deposit fees vary by region; UK bank/debit/credit card funding free; other regions differ.
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XTB advertises deposits as free, but international online payment fees include Skrill 2% and Neteller 1%; bank/payment-provider fees may apply.
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Withdrawal fee
Most withdrawal methods are free, but international bank wire/TT withdrawals may incur a Pepperstone pass-through/deduction around USD $20 or £15 depending region; third-party fees may apply.
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IC does not charge additional withdrawal fees, but third-party/intermediary/bank fees can apply; one Help Centre example mentions 20 AUD bank fee for some bankwire paths.
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UK withdrawals are listed as free for bank/debit/credit card methods; Dubai comparison table notes wire withdrawal $25; other regions vary.
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International withdrawals above 50 USD are free and below 50 USD cost 30 USD; UK withdrawals are free; detailed fee table lists additional method-specific fees.
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Inactivity fee
No inactivity fee disclosed; accounts under ten units of currency inactive for three or more months may be archived.
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No account inactivity fees.
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Inactivity/admin fee is region/product-specific: UK charges page currently lists inactivity fee free; IG Bank Switzerland charges CHF 18/month after 2+ years inactivity with a balance.
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Account maintenance is free for active clients; otherwise a monthly fee of 10 EUR may be charged when stated inactivity conditions are met.
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Markets, platforms & payments
Tradable assets
CFDs on FX, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, shares and more; account/platform pages list forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and cryptocurrency CFDs, with regional restrictions.
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Forex CFDs, Indices CFDs, Commodities CFDs, Stocks CFDs, Bonds CFDs, Cryptocurrency CFDs, Futures CFDs.
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IG offers a broad range of tradable products by region, including CFDs on forex, indices, shares, commodities, crypto, ETFs, options, futures, bonds, rates and volatility; UK also has share dealing and selected options/futures; products vary by region.
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Official pages list real stocks and ETFs, Investment Plans, and CFDs on forex, indices, commodities, stocks/ETFs and cryptocurrencies.
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Trading platforms
Pepperstone offers its own platform/app plus TradingView, MT5, MT4 and cTrader; copy trading is also promoted.
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MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader 4, cTrader, TradingView, MetaTrader WebTrader/cTrader Web and social/copy tools IC Social, Signal Start, ZuluTrade.
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IG supports proprietary web/mobile platforms plus MT4, MT5 in some regions, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer, TradingView and institutional/API/FIX access.
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XTB promotes an award-winning mobile application and web platform; account pages list Mobile, Desktop, Tablet availability and web app links go to xStation5.
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Account types
Main account types are Standard and Razor CFD; UK also offers spread betting; demo and Pro classification are available.
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Official pages list Standard, Raw Spread, cTrader Raw Spread and Swap Free; account overview also shows Raw Pro and Raw Pro+ entries.
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Account types differ by region; examples include IG trading/professional, limited risk, share dealing, options, turbo24 and swap-free accounts.
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XTB markets one simple account, offers swap-free accounts for certain eligible countries/entities, and offers a free training/demo account.
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Deposit methods
Apple Pay, Google Pay, Visa/Mastercard, bank transfer, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Union Pay, USDT/ZotaPay and some local methods; availability varies by region and secure client area.
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Credit/debit cards, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, UnionPay, wire transfer, Bpay, broker-to-broker, POLI, Thai Internet Banking, Rapidpay, Klarna, Vietnamese Internet Banking, cryptocurrency.
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Deposit methods vary by region; official pages mention bank transfer, debit/credit card, Wise, and Singapore PayNow.
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Deposits are available by card, bank transfer, and online payments including Skrill and Neteller on the international page; UK page lists cards and bank transfer.
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Withdrawal methods
Withdrawals are handled through the secure client area and generally mirror supported funding methods, but availability is regional and funds are normally returned to same-name accounts/methods.
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Withdrawal methods depend on original deposit method; examples include Visa/Mastercard/card routes, bank wire, Neteller, Skrill and PayPal.
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Withdrawal methods vary by region; UK charges list bank/debit/credit card deposits/withdrawals; comparison table lists US ACH/wire/check deposit and ACH/wire withdrawal details; help pages mention Card/ApplePay withdrawals.
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Main withdrawal route on pages is a bank account in the client's name; the international fee table also lists withdrawal fees for credit cards and Skrill/Neteller/PayRetailers, implying availability in some contexts.
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Withdrawal processing time
Withdrawal time varies by method/region: wallets/cards often up to 1 business day; bank transfers can be up to 2 business days domestically and up to 7 or 3-5 working days for international/bank wire settlement.
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Same-business-day processing cutoff before 12:00 AEST/AEDT; after processing allow at least 3 business days depending on method.
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Withdrawal timing is not a single global value; UK help articles indicate same-day processing for eligible card/ApplePay requests, up to 5 working days to receive, and 1-3 business days for bank transfers after approval.
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Withdrawal processing is same/next business day on official pages, with UK payment allocation up to 3 business days.
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BrokerVS provides broker comparison research only. Scores and evidence can vary by country, account type, and legal entity; users should verify source links before opening an account.